Turkey lira crisis: Government blames social media and ‘fabricated news’

Turkey’s
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan salutes his supporters during a
rally at Istanbul’s Yenikapi fairground.
(Photo by Getty Images)

• The Turkish government launched an investigation into
  social media activity that it believes has exacerbated the
  recent collapse of the lira.
• The country’s financial regulator is seeking prison
  sentences of up to five years for those who spread “erroneous
  and fabricated news and statements” to influence
  markets.
• Separately, the chief prosecutor in Istanbul is
  investigating statements that “threaten … confidence in the
  economy.”

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The Turkish government is launching an investigation into social
media posts it believes exacerbated the recent collapse of the
lira, blaming what it calls “fabricated news” for the currency’s
plunge.

According to a report from the Financial Times, which cites
Turkey’s state news agency, the chief prosecutor in Istanbul has
launched an investigation into “persons who are involved in
actions that threaten social peace, domestic calm and unity, and
confidence in the economy,” citing false or manipulative
statements in news programmes and on social media.

Separately, Turkey’s Capital Markets Board, the country’s central
bank and financial regulator, said it plans to seek fines and
even prison sentences for those who spread “erroneous and
fabricated news and statements” about the ongoing crisis that has
seen the lira lose more than a quarter of its value in just a
week.

The TCMB said it will seek prison sentences of two to five years
for people who use news or social media to try to “affect the
prices and valuations of capital market vehicles or investors’
decisions through their statements, reports, news stories, and
analysis.”

The Turkish currency’s slide comes amid rising tension with the
US over trade. US President Trump authorised increased tariffs
against Turkey on Friday.

“This perception operation is a part of the economic war
confronting our country,” Erdogan’s communications advisor
Fahrettin Altun tweeted after a speech by the president on
Sunday.

“Nowhere in our president’s statement did he say there was a
situation in which bank deposits would be seized. His words were
aimed at strengthening Turkey’s economy and reflect our state’s
determined stance, and had the tenor of a warning to prevent the
flight of foreign exchange from our country,” he added.